Sacred Clock

The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes! Psalm 119:64

 

 

One of the benefits that comes with growing up in a Christian family is that the children grow up developing the weekly habit of attending church and Sunday school. My husband and I did not come to know the Lord until our children were pre-teens. Though they had been a part of a church and had attended Sunday School we grew much more committed after we were saved and attending church included a real feeding from God’s Word.  We had something to go to church for!

 

In the first few months our commitment was hard for our kids. They did not get the changed attitudes and enthusiasm we had for Sunday mornings. Church became non-negotiable. I can remember one morning in particular when our son was objecting to going to church. There was something else that he had wanted to do. My husband calmly explained to our son that when we consider what God has done for us – giving up three hours on a Sunday morning really wasn’t all that much to ask. I know we had that conversation many times.

 

I get it with a twelve year old who is new to the faith.  This had not been our usual habit for the first eleven years of his life. It was new and it was a change. He did not like change. I don’t get it when born again believers complain about a service lasting a few minutes longer than scheduled.

 

The Worship of God is supposed to be all about Him. Sunday worship is not for us to “get something out of,” it is for us to offer our sacrifices of worship and praise to our Holy God who has taken the punishment for our sin and forgiven us for it all. Our minds are to be on Him – not the clock.

 

In an effort to encourage the Colossian Christians not to adhere to a set of rules but to worship God who “made us alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,” Paul explains that Christ set those trespasses aside, nailing them to the cross. So, we should keep our eyes on Him.  Paul said it like this, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 

 

My life is hidden with Christ in God and I can’t offer Him a few hours a week? I understand that with kids in tow, it can be difficult – but it is not impossible to teach children to sit and listen and behave.  I am concerned for the child who is being taught that God may have “just X amount of time” and then we have done our duty and leave it behind until next week.         

 

In the church today we sing, “Thy Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet And Light Unto My Path,” but if the preacher spends five minutes more than the time we have allotted, we complain. God, in Psalm 119, reminds us over and over again of all the benefits of knowing and following the laws, statutes, and precepts He has laid down for us in His word. It must grieve Him to hear us be so ungrateful for the Words that others sneak to hear and hide to get to read.

 

In many areas of our lives the clock is important. In business and academics it is necessary to be on time – to watch the length of time we are taking from others. But, for a worship service it is best if the Holy Spirit is permitted to be in charge of the timing. When we do it we will base our judgment on earthly things like what time a game starts, our lunch reservations, how long the old preacher used to peach, or maybe even how much sleep we got the night before. Our minds have to be trained to think about the things above. The preaching of Word of God is one of His training tools.   

 

I pray that the children of God will get to a point where we agree with the Psalmist when he said, “My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.”  Psalm 119:20 We need to get our eyes off the sacred clock and onto the sacred Word.

 

It remains true that it is not too much for God to ask us to give Him just a few hours on Sunday morning.